In the sprawling metropolis of JOHANNESBURG, a city grappling with the complexities of urban life, a drama is unfolding that touches on issues of immigration, law enforcement, and access to basic services. The stage is set in Rosettenville, a suburb south of JOHANNESBURG, and Hillbrow, an inner-city neighborhood, where members of Operation Dudula, a group known for its anti-immigrant stance, are taking matters into their own hands.
The story begins with Operation Dudula's actions in Rosettenville, where members conducted raids on buildings they claim have been hijacked by undocumented individuals. On a Saturday morning, they confronted officers of the South African Police Service (SAPS), expressing frustration over what they perceive as a lack of action against the illegal occupation of properties. The group asserts that they are acting in response to the authorities' failure to address the issue, which they say has led to increased crime and a loss of revenue for the city due to illegal water and electricity connections.
Zandile Dabula, the president of Operation Dudula, led the group in confronting SAPS members, arguing that citizens have a constitutional right to make arrests when authorities fail to act effectively. She told SAPS members that they were there to reclaim hijacked properties taken over by undocumented foreigners and that the city loses revenue due to illegal water and electricity connections. The tension between Operation Dudula and the SAPS was palpable, with Dabula urging police to assist in the operation rather than hinder it. However, SAPS officers questioned the legality of the operation, pointing out the absence of other government departments, such as Home Affairs and city officials.
Dabula responded by suggesting that institutions avoid associating with Operation Dudula for fear of being labeled as anti-foreigner. Operation Dudula members demanded that police arrest undocumented individuals found in the buildings, but police stressed the need for proper legal procedures, including court orders, before evictions could take place. Rosettenville has been a hotspot for hijacked buildings, with many allegedly controlled by criminal syndicates. Locals have reported illegal occupations, but claim authorities have failed to act. Operation Dudula has vowed to continue its raids across JOHANNESBURG, including Malvern, in what it calls a "continuous program" to reclaim properties.
The narrative shifts to Hillbrow, where Operation Dudula's actions have directly impacted access to healthcare for foreign nationals. On 25 June 2025, the group once again disrupted access to the Hillbrow Clinic, targeting foreign nationals and denying them healthcare, allegedly in defiance of South Africa’s Constitution. Despite police intervention and ongoing legal action by rights groups, the anti-migrant group continues to intimidate and unlawfully demand documentation from patients.
Jennifer, a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), shared her experience with Daily Maverick, explaining that she had arrived at the clinic at 5am to have her teeth removed, only to be blocked by Operation Dudula members. Despite being number four in line, she was still waiting outside at 10am, enduring the pain in her teeth. The group’s attempt to prevent foreign nationals from accessing healthcare at the clinic began on 23 June 2025, when security guards were forced to close the clinic’s gates as tensions escalated. Despite being removed by the police earlier in the week, Operation Dudula returned to the healthcare centre and continued to ask the clinic’s patients for identification, in contravention of South Africa’s Constitution and the Immigration Act.
Section 27 of the Constitution explicitly states that everyone living in South Africa has the right to access basic healthcare services, and no one may be denied emergency medical treatment even if they are undocumented. Additionally, the Immigration Act stipulates that only immigration officers and members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) have the authority to ask citizens and foreign nationals to produce valid documentation.
Simphiwe Shabangu, an Operation Dudula member, told Daily Maverick that they believe they are within their rights to deny migrants access to healthcare, arguing that law enforcers are failing to implement the Immigration Act. Shabangu insisted that they were not preventing people with valid documentation or who needed urgent medical care from accessing the clinic. But Daily Maverick witnessed the organisation’s members doing exactly that.
The publication saw Operation Dudula members, clad in military-style regalia, stop a woman whose face was caked in dry blood from a wound on her forehead from entering the clinic. The woman, an asylum seeker from the DRC, showed the members her asylum permit but was still denied entry. Speaking to Daily Maverick on the sidelines, the woman said: “They say I cannot go in here, only South Africans can. I have been here for 23 years, and I have my asylum papers, but they still are not allowing me in. You can see I am bleeding, but I cannot get help. This is not how you treat people, even if you don’t like them.”
The police arrived at the clinic just after 10am, and after a tense exchange with Shabangu, the officers successfully stopped Operation Dudula from preventing access to the clinic. However, the group refused to leave the premises, vowing to mobilise forces to continue the unlawful action.
The actions of Operation Dudula have drawn condemnation from rights groups, who have taken legal action to stop the group from assaulting or harassing foreign nationals and from impeding access to healthcare services and schools for the children of international migrants.
Operation Dudula has also rejected the newly launched Border and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum, which is said to target systematic corruption and illegal behavior in the border management sector. The rights group believes the forum will produce no constructive results and is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Operation Dudula’s Zandile Dabula says no positive results will come out of the forum. According to the social rights activist, corrupt authorities must be held accountable.
The anti-illegal immigrants’ civic movement blames the border management sector for the large influx of unauthorised foreign people into the country. Dabula accuses the officials of being careless with managing the border. She claims that corruption at the border is the primary reason why South Africa is dealing with mass adoption of migrants, alleging that the officials in charge have no regard for residents and are only concerned with receiving wages and bribes from criminals.
The narrative extends beyond JOHANNESBURG, with reports of foreign nationals being turned away from clinics in other areas if they don't have identity documents or are made to wait until South Africans are assisted first. On a Tuesday morning, Bheki Ndlovu left his house early so he could be at the Diepsloot Ext 7 Clinic at 6.30am to collect his ARVs. However, Ndlovu, aged 45, was still on the queue outside the gate hours later as a group of people claiming to be members of Dudula barred him and other migrants from entering the clinic. Ndlovu said that they told them they couldn’t get in at all if they didn’t have their papers. And imagine people like him who need ARVs, it means they are sentencing them to death.
Another patient, Bekezela Ncube, 46, had been waiting since 7am with her five-year-old child. Ncube said that her child was told by the school she attends that she needs to get flu shots and she needs her ARVs. But they don’t care and don’t want them to go in. This is not fair, the Constitution does allow them to get health services but they are being blocked from that. However, a foreign national woman who allegedly collapsed while still queuing was quickly carried into the clinic.
Locals said they were worried about the division Dudula operation would cause in the community, which may also spark xenophobic attacks. Innocent Jeke said that he fears it will escalate like what happened during the xenophobia attacks. Their worry is about African migrants, women who are pregnant. If they can’t go to health facilities, they are going to have more deaths.
Operation Dudula’s Gauteng coordinator Tholakele Ntwanyana admitted they were screening people as they wanted South Africans to be served first. According to Ntwanyana, neither the police nor the department of health were stopping them. However Gauteng department of health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said they gave no such approvals. He said that no community member or structure has a right to prevent others from accessing healthcare services. This goes against the Constitution. The department can never support acts that undermine the laws of the land. He said such incidents are usually reported to police.
The story of Operation Dudula's actions in Rosettenville and Hillbrow raises fundamental questions about the rule of law, the rights of migrants, and the role of citizens in addressing social problems. As the legal battles unfold and the tensions continue to simmer, the future of these communities, and the broader South African society, remains uncertain.
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